Malayan languages

The Malay or Malayan languages are a group of closely related languages spoken by Malays and related peoples across Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Southern Thailand. They have traditionally been classified as Malay, Para-Malay, and Aboriginal Malay, but this reflects geography and ethnicity rather than a proper linguistic classification. The Malayan languages are mutually unintelligible to varying extents, though the distinction between language and dialect is unclear in many cases. According to Ethnologue 16, the varieties marked with an asterisk below are so closely related that they may prove to be dialects of a single Malay language.

Para-Malay includes the Malayan languages of Sumatra. They are: Minangkabau, Central Malay (Bengkulu), Pekal, Musi (Palembang), Negeri Sembilan (Malaysia), and Duano’.^[3]

Aboriginal Malay are the Malayan languages spoken by the Orang Asli (Proto-Malay) in Malaya. They are Jakun, Orang Kanaq, Orang Seletar, and Temuan.

The other Malayan languages, included in neither of these groups, are associated with the expansion of the Malays across the archipelago. They include Malaccan Malay (Malaysian and Indonesian), Kedah Malay, Kedayan/Brunei Malay, Berau Malay, Bangka Malay, Jambi Malay, Kutai Malay (several languages), Loncong, Pattani Malay, and Banjarese.

There are also several Malay-based creole languages, such as Betawi, Cocos Malay, and Manado Malay, which may be more or less distinct from standard (Malaccan) Malay.

History

The extent to which Malay and related Malayan languages are used in the countries where it is spoken varies depending on historical and cultural circumstances. Malay is the national language in Malaysia by Article 152 of the Constitution of Malaysia, and became the sole official language in West Malaysia in 1968, and in East Malaysia gradually from 1974. English continues, however, to be widely used in professional and commercial fields and in the superior courts. Other minority languages are also commonly used by the country's large ethnic minorities. The situation in Brunei is similar to that of Malaysia.

In Singapore, Malay was historically the lingua franca among people of different nationalities. Although this has largely given way to English, Malay still retains the status of national language and the national anthem, Majulah Singapura, is entirely in Malay. In addition, parade commands in the military, police and civil defence are given only in Malay.

Most residents of the five southernmost provinces of Thailand — a region that, for the most part, used to be part of an ancient Malay kingdom called Pattani — speak a dialect of Malay called Yawi (not to be confused with Jawi), which is similar to Kelantanese Malay, but the language has no official status or recognition.

Owing to earlier contact with the Philippines, Malay words — such as dalam hati (sympathy), luwalhati (glory), tengah hari (midday), sedap (delicious) — have evolved and been integrated into Tagalog and other Philippine languages.

By contrast, Indonesian has successfully become the lingua franca for its disparate islands and ethnic groups, in part because the colonial language, Dutch, is no longer commonly spoken. (In East Timor, which was governed as a province of Indonesia from 1976 to 1999, Indonesian is widely spoken and recognized under its Constitution as a 'working language'.)

Besides Indonesian, which developed from the Malaccan dialect, there are many Malay dialects spoken in Indonesia Malay-based creole languages, divided into western and eastern groups. Western Malay is predominantly spoken in Sumatra, and known as Sumatran dialects, such as: Riau, Langkat, Palembang and Jambi. Minangkabau and Bengkulu are believed to be Sumatran Malay descendants. Meanwhile Jakarta dialect (known as Betawi) also belongs to the western Malay group.

The eastern dialects are spoken in the easternmost part of the Indonesian archipelago and include: Manado dialect Manado Malay (in north Sulawesi) and Maluku, North Maluku and Papua dialects.

The differences among both groups are quite observable. For example the word 'kita' means "we, us" in western, but means "I, me" in Manado, whereas "we, us" in Manado is 'torang' and Ambon 'katong' (originally abbreviated from Malay 'kita orang' (means "we people"). Another difference is the lack of possessive pronouns (and suffixes) in eastern dialects. Manado uses the verb 'pe' and Ambon 'pu' (from Malay 'punya', meaning "to have") to mark possession. So "my name" and "our house" are translated in western Malay as 'namaku' and 'rumah kita' but 'kita pe nama' and 'torang pe rumah' in Manado and 'beta pu nama', 'katong pu rumah' in Ambon dialect.

The pronunciation may vary in western dialects, especially the pronunciation of words ending in the vowel 'a'. For example Malaysian pronounce 'kita' (inclusive we, us, our) as /kitə/, Kelantan and Southern Thailand as /kitɔ/, Riau as /kita/, Palembang as /kito/, Betawi and Perak as /kitɛ/.

Betawi and eastern dialects are sometimes regarded as Malay creole, because the speakers are not ethnically Malay.

Comparison of Malay varieties

A comparison of various varieties of Malay, plus three Para-Malay languages:

English = Where are you going on this bicycle? May I go with you?

Word by word comparison (based on sentences above):

ISO 639

In ISO 639-1 there is 'ms', ISO 639-2 there are two codes: 'may'/'msa'. In ISO 639-3, 'msa' is defined as a "macrolanguage".

References

See also

• Ethnic Malays
• Malajoe Batawi

Languages of Malaysia Main Official Malaysian Recognised English Significant minority Chinese Sino-Tibetan Cantonese Eastern Min Fuqing Fuzhou Hokkien Mandarin Chinese Malaysian Mandarin Pu-Xian Min Penang Hokkien Southern Peninsular Malaysian Hokkien Yue Chinese Indian Malayalam Punjabi Malaysian Tamil Telugu Families Aslian Bornean Land Dayak Malayic Philippine Sama–Bajaw Creoles Chavacano Kristang Manglish Other Malay trade and creole languages Natives / Minorities Nationwide Banjar Buginese Javanese Malay (Malayan) Peninsular Malaysia Batek Cheq Wong Duano’ Jah Hut Jahai Jakun Kedah Malay Kelantan-Pattani Malay Kenaboi1 Kensiu Kerinci Kintaq Lanoh Mah Meri Minangkabau Minriq Mintil Mos Orang Kanaq Orang Seletar Pahang Malay Perak Malay Rawa Malay Sabüm1 Semai Semaq Beri Semelai Semnam Southern Thai Temiar Temoq2 Temuan Terengganu Malay Wila'1 East Malaysia Abai Bahau Bajaw Balau Belait Berawan Biatah Bintulu Bonggi Bookan Bruneian/Kedayan Malay Brunei Bisaya Bukar Sadong Bukitan Coastal Kadazan Cocos Malay Daro-Matu Dumpas Dusun Eastern Kadazan Gana’ Iban Ida'an Iranun Jagoi Jangkang Kajaman Kalabakan Kanowit Kayan Kelabit Kendayan Keningau Murut Kinabatangan Kiput Klias River Kadazan Kota Marudu Talantang Kuijau Lahanan Lelak1 Lengilu1 Lotud Lun Bawang Mainstream Kenyah Melanau Molbog Momogun Murik Kayan Narom Nonukan Tidong Okolod Paluan Papar Punan Batu2 Remun Sa'ban Sabah Bisaya Sama Sarawak Malay Sebop Sebuyau Sekapan Selungai Murut Sembakung Seru1 Serudung Sian Suluk Sungai Tagol Timugon Tombonuwo Tring Tringgus Tutoh Ukit2 Uma’ Lasan Mixed Rojak Malaysian English (Differences) Immigrants African Bangladeshi Burmese Cambodian East Timorese Filipino Indonesian Japanese Korean Laotian Nepalese Pakistani Vietnamese Signs Main Malaysian Sign Language (Manually Coded Malay) By states Penang Sign Language Selangor Sign Language 1 Extinct languages. 2 Nearly extinct languages.